Fmr Dominica US & OAS Rep Hubert Charles says remove social programs from Political contestation

​Former Dominica US & OAS Representative Hubert Charles is advocating that social programs must be removed from Political contestation. He says there needs to be a change in the manner in which some social programs are viewed. Charles was giving the feature address at the Dominica Council on Ageing’s (DCOA) 22nd Annual General Meeting (AGM), at the Fort Young Hotel on Wednesday 31st May 2017, when he made that comment.
 
He referenced the African, European and Kalinago cultures, as regards the manner in which older persons were treated. He suggested that from the Dominica perspective, there have been challenges.
 
Mr Charles added, when programs were implemented by government and others to cater to the elderly, “what was highlighted was the isolation & neglect on the part of many of the older persons on island. We have not gone along the path that our African culture suggested, but we have rather gone along with our European forbearers practices, and we have to watch this, we have to begin by admitting that some of what needs to be done is already being done in Dominica.”
 
Thus, Mr Charles said, the provision of free health care to all persons who have reached the age of sixty, the provision of a basic stipend for qualifying older persons and the Yes We Care Program incorporating in home care, housing and other support are already in place.
 
He hopes that over time, these programs can be fine-tuned for resilience and sustainability; that they can be removed from political contestation, and become accepted as a core aspect of the state’s obligation to its citizens, just like education, and be provided, regardless of change of our political leader.
 
Mr Charles noted that there are many issues that need to be accepted, “as part and parcel of what constitutes being a Dominican, and to treat them as such, remove them from the realm of political contestation, and accept that they are to be provided regardless of any change in our political leadership”.
 
He emphasized that this is particularly important as it relates to the elderly; “I think it’s time for us to do that with regard to people who are aged”.